I have to strongly confirm this. I was in Alpha & (after some frustration, infrequently) in Beta. All the core advice taken was from quite young players, and their weekly in-house testers were all students from Alpharetta High School (a nice Atlanta suburb where they are located).
It's a great company and good game, and I bought it in a show of support, don't get me wrong. But, if they'd had listened more closely to some of us hard-core MMO PvP veterans more closely regarding the agency battles, they might not have launched with the structure or pricing scheme that they did....subsequently and significantly changing them to their detriment.
They chose their primary audience, and that's completely fine, but, as a businessman, I believe they focused too closely on a too-fickle, fad-focused audience that moves from "bright & shiny" shooter to "the latest thing" shooter. They're not Valve, and they can't afford to keep up with the substantial development money that Valve's thrown at TF2 (as essentially an extended market test).
If you want quick, jump-in jump-out online action for a very reasonable price, this is a really good game to check out. If you want persistent, meaningful PvP that generates stories you'll be talking about months to years later, skip it.
P.S. I think it's fine that they're respectfully offering an alternative to the APB players. It's not they'll have anything to log into in a few days.
All systems go: Perpetuum launching November 25th
Nov 9th 2010 12:20PM (Massively)Hi-Rez Studios announces development of Tribes Universe MMO
Oct 23rd 2010 9:09PM (Massively)DC Universe flexes more voiceover muscles
Oct 22nd 2010 12:57PM (Massively)EVE Evolved: Death of an Industrialist, part 2
Sep 19th 2010 9:55PM (Massively)Life after APB: Global Agenda woos displaced players with special offer
Sep 19th 2010 7:48PM (Massively)Life after APB: Global Agenda woos displaced players with special offer
Sep 19th 2010 7:44PM (Massively)It's a great company and good game, and I bought it in a show of support, don't get me wrong. But, if they'd had listened more closely to some of us hard-core MMO PvP veterans more closely regarding the agency battles, they might not have launched with the structure or pricing scheme that they did....subsequently and significantly changing them to their detriment.
They chose their primary audience, and that's completely fine, but, as a businessman, I believe they focused too closely on a too-fickle, fad-focused audience that moves from "bright & shiny" shooter to "the latest thing" shooter. They're not Valve, and they can't afford to keep up with the substantial development money that Valve's thrown at TF2 (as essentially an extended market test).
If you want quick, jump-in jump-out online action for a very reasonable price, this is a really good game to check out. If you want persistent, meaningful PvP that generates stories you'll be talking about months to years later, skip it.
P.S. I think it's fine that they're respectfully offering an alternative to the APB players. It's not they'll have anything to log into in a few days.
First video of Guild Wars 2 gameplay released [Updated]
Aug 17th 2010 7:21PM (Massively)Free for All: Knowing my limits
Aug 11th 2010 4:49PM (Massively)Executive Producer of Jumpgate Evolution gives information on game's status
Jun 7th 2010 8:29PM (Massively)Darkfall ropes players back in with free gametime
Apr 27th 2010 7:22PM (Massively)